Differences in running biomechanics between young, healthy men and women carrying external loads

Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

Bioengineering and Biotechnology

Jaques Reifman¹  Aravind Sundaramurthy²  Junfei Tong²  Adhitya V. Subramani²  Jose E. Rubio²  Vivek Bhaskar Kote²  W. Brent Edwards³  Michael Baggaley³ 

[1] Department of Defense Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute, Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, United States Army Medical Research and Development Command, Fort Detrick, MD, United States;Department of Defense Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute, Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, United States Army Medical Research and Development Command, Fort Detrick, MD, United States;The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD, United States;Human Performance Laboratory, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada;The McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada;

关键词: individualized models;    load carriage;    musculoskeletal injury;    running;    sex;    stress fracture;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fbioe.2023.1250937

 received in 2023-06-30, accepted in 2023-09-04,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

During U.S. Army basic combat training (BCT), women are more prone to lower-extremity musculoskeletal injuries, including stress fracture (SF) of the tibia, with injury rates two to four times higher than those in men. There is evidence to suggest that the different injury rates are, in part, due to sex-specific differences in running biomechanics, including lower-extremity joint kinematics and kinetics, which are not fully understood, particularly when running with external load. To address this knowledge gap, we collected computed tomography images and motion-capture data from 41 young, healthy adults (20 women and 21 men) running on an instrumented treadmill at 3.0 m/s with loads of 0.0 kg, 11.3 kg, or 22.7 kg. Using individualized computational models, we quantified the running biomechanics and estimated tibial SF risk over 10 weeks of BCT, for each load condition. Across all load conditions, compared to men, women had a significantly smaller flexion angle at the trunk (16.9%–24.6%) but larger flexion angles at the ankle (14.0%–14.7%). Under load-carriage conditions, women had a larger flexion angle at the hip (17.7%–23.5%). In addition, women had a significantly smaller hip extension moment (11.8%–20.0%) and ankle plantarflexion moment (10.2%–14.3%), but larger joint reaction forces (JRFs) at the hip (16.1%–22.0%), knee (9.1%–14.2%), and ankle (8.2%–12.9%). Consequently, we found that women had a greater increase in tibial strain and SF risk than men as load increases, indicating higher susceptibility to injuries. When load carriage increased from 0.0 kg to 22.7 kg, SF risk increased by about 250% in women but only 133% in men. These results provide quantitative evidence to support the Army’s new training and testing doctrine, as it shifts to a more personalized approach that shall account for sex and individual differences.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Rubio, Tong, Sundaramurthy, Subramani, Kote, Baggaley, Edwards and Reifman.